San Francisco bikers have a lot to deal with in the best of circumstances. Hills, sightseers and fog: Disaster can strike if you add negligent drivers to this mix.
When you are riding a bike, you are at risk. The rules of the road in California protect you, but, in order for them to work, everybody has to follow them.
You have rights
If you look at the California legal code about bikes on the road, the first thing you should see is that bikers have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers of motor vehicles. There is a common-sense exception for non-applicable rules, but, essentially you get the same consideration under the law as would a driver of a car.
Nevertheless, collisions happen frequently, and, as a cyclist, the chances are that this type of collision would lead to serious injuries for you and relatively no losses for the driver of a motor vehicle.
You deserve fairness
Our office sees many cases in which bikers have been thoroughly demoralized and intimidated by previous interactions with other parties in the case, advice from previous representatives and even buy their own research. To get a fair trial, what you will probably need to do is put the exact details of the event of your injury in a wider context of cyclist’s injury law. Even apparent deal breakers, such as cycling through a crosswalk or operating a bike under the influence, might not be as hopeless as they seem.
You could still have a chance
Catastrophic injuries could leave you or your loved ones with the impossible task of managing unmanageable medical debt. You should not give up — and you should probably not sign any settlement offers, for that matter — until you fully understand all of the possible resolutions of your case.